The present invention relates generally to a restraint device for use on humans. More particularly, this invention pertains to a wrist restraint device that humanely and securely restrains a person""s hands behind their back while functioning as a handle to provide a means of controlling the person from the rear and as a means to limit the movement of the restrained individual to a certain area.
The device was designed to be a humane restraint with ease of use to fill a long-standing need for more safety and control in the process of restraining, removing, and escorting violent inmates from their cells to and from facility activities.
Various types and constructions of flexible material wrist restraints for use by law enforcement personnel in dealing with subduing suspects and controlling prisoners are known. Such restraints in most instances are made of a polymeric based material and embody strap parts which can be formed into loops for girding both wrists of a person, and means to secure or lock the loops, the locking means commonly being teeth or projections carried on the strap parts and a cooperating latch or stop usually carried elsewhere on the strap parts for engaging the teeth or projections to effect a stop function which maintains the loops secured.
Representative of the mentioned constructions are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,071,023; 4,909,051; 4,910,831; 5,088,158 and 5,159,728. These patents disclose generally flat strap parts for use as the loop forming component.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,803,280; 5,443,155; and 5,680,781 disclose restraint devices which are modified handcuffs with handles. However, they do not disclose a means to attach the restraint to a cell door or to the user, allowing for more control and greater distance from the restrained individual.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 567,049; 1,478,999; 1,883,598; 2,582,339; and 3,319,609 teach restraint devices for holding animals, in particular pigs. Although these devices each have a loop which can be tightened, they are designed to hold the snout, or some other body part, of an animal and are not suitable for use on humans.
Other restraint devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,854,138; 5,460,373; 5,797,404; and 5,099,662. However, none of these devices provide the level of control and ability to restrict the restrained person""s area of movement offered by the present invention.
What is needed, then, is a restraint device that effectively and humanely restrains the hands of a person while providing superior control and safety to the officer, including providing a means for releasably attaching the restraint and thus the restrained person, to a cell door or to the officer.
Before an inmate""s cell door is opened, the inmate""s hands would be restrained behind his back through a mid-level cell door pass-through, with the device attached to the cell door. When using the device in this manner, the inmate""s area of movement is restricted. Once the device is applied, the cell door can be opened and additional restraints, such as standard handcuffs or ankle cuffs, can be used if necessary to meet custody and control level escort requirements. The inmate would remain restrained at and to the cell door until the officer has the level of control required for a safe escort. The device acts as a handle to provide control over the inmate from the rear. The connection ring allows for the addition of a strap (nylon, leather) or chain to allow the individual to be restrained to a specific location or to allow a greater distance between the officer and the inmate during escort.
To operate the device, an individual""s hands are placed behind his back and inserted into the straps. Holding the device at the thumb-rest with one hand, the user uses his other hand to pull the outer sleeve to the rear (away from the individual being restrained) until the straps reach the desired tightness and then rotates the outer sleeve to the right (clockwise) until the locking pin engages the appropriate notch in the locking channel port. To loosen the straps, the outer sleeve is pulled slightly to the rear and rotated to the left so that the locking pin disengages from the locking channel port.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an effective means for restraining a person.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a restraint which can be applied through the pass-through of a cell door.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a restraint which restricts movement of a person to a limited area so that additional restraints may be applied.